Weekly Update, September 6, 2024

Mission

To make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.

Vision

Nelson Memorial UMC seeks to be a place where all God’s broken, hurting, and imperfect children discover wholeness and community while experiencing the warm and welcoming love of Jesus Christ.  We seek to connect with one another to grow in our knowledge and love of God, to encourage each person to live out their unique calling to serve God, and to make a difference in the Boonville community and throughout the world.

Priorities

Developing and Nurturing Faith in Children and Youth

Fostering Growth and Community in Worship and Small Groups

Provide Opportunities to Serve God in Boonville and Beyond

Worship This Week

This Sunday we begin a new message series titled “Facing Our Giants.” In the Old Testament there are several incidents of armies having literal battles or encounters with giants (David and Goliath for instance). In this series, we will look at some of those giants that appear in our lives, those battles we face where it feels like the odds are anything but in our favor.  This week we will begin with a look at a story in the book of Numbers, Chapter 13, verses 1 and 2, and 25-33.

God spoke to Moses: “Send men to scout out the country of Canaan that I am giving to the People of Israel. Send one man from each ancestral tribe, each one a tried-and-true leader in the tribe.”

After forty days of scouting out the land, they returned home.

They presented themselves before Moses and Aaron and the whole congregation of the People of Israel in the Wilderness of Paran at Kadesh. They reported to the whole congregation and showed them the fruit of the land. Then they told the story of their trip:

“We went to the land to which you sent us and, oh! It does flow with milk and honey! Just look at this fruit! The only thing is that the people who live there are fierce, their cities are huge and well fortified. Worse yet, we saw descendants of the giant Anak. Amalekites are spread out in the Negev; Hittites, Jebusites, and Amorites hold the hill country; and the Canaanites are established on the Mediterranean Sea and along the Jordan.”

Caleb interrupted, called for silence before Moses and said, “Let’s go up and take the land—now. We can do it.”

But the others said, “We can’t attack those people; they’re way stronger than we are.” They spread scary rumors among the People of Israel. They said, “We scouted out the land from one end to the other—it’s a land that swallows people whole. Everybody we saw was huge. Why, we even saw the Nephilim giants (the Anak giants come from the Nephilim). Alongside them we felt like grasshoppers. And they looked down on us as if we were grasshoppers.”

Our services will begin with the song Worship Through It, by Tasha Layton. Our opening song will be How Great Thou Art followed by Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus, and we’ll close the services with Victory In Jesus. As a special treat, in the 10:20 service the Choir will bring the Gloria Canon as our Prelude.

Virtual Worship Information

In addition to in-person worship, our service will be live-streamed. The service can be viewed on our Facebook Page.  The service will start at approximately 10:25 am following our Gathering Song.  Additionally, we post a recording of our messages to our website by early Sunday afternoon. 

Announcements

Help Wanted – We are looking for a new Nursery Director for Sunday mornings to work with our youngest members. The Nursery Director works Sunday mornings from 7:30 – noon and must be at least 21 years old.  Safe Gatherings background training will be required.  If you or someone you know are interested in this position, please speak with Pastor Chris or Karma Haller for more information.

Feeling Social? – Are you a Snapchat, Tik Toc, Facebook, or Instagram user?  Do you like to post pictures and updates on social media platforms? We are looking for some help expanding our social media presence and develop a social media strategy. If you have gifts or passions in the world of social media and would like to help us grow in this area, please let Pastor Chris know.  

Kids Hope USA – As we gear up for the start of a new school year we will soon be starting our KHUSA mentoring program at David Barton.  If you have a tug at your heart to mentor a child, please give me a call and I would love to share more.  Karma Haller – (660) 537-3061

What is a United Methodist Christian?  – Beginning this coming Wednesday, September 11, Pastor Chris will host a class discussing the history and teachings of the United Methodist Church.  This class will begin at 6:30 pm in the Fellowship Hall and run for 6 weeks.  If you haven’t yet signed up, you are still welcome to join, however, we will need to order additional books. (Books are $13/each.) Please contact Pastor Chris for more information.  

Save The Date – The Outreach Team will be hosting our annual Mission Extravaganza on Saturday, November 9!  Teams will gather at the church for a morning of missions, including leaf raking and delivering of goodies to our community helpers. The extravaganza will conclude with a luncheon as we break bread together and give God thanks for the work he is doing. Make plans to join us on November 9!

Giving Through Venmo  – We can be found on Venmo at @NelsonMemorialUMC.  If you don’t know what Venmo is and would like to learn more, information about giving through Venmo can be found on our webpage at https://nelsonmemorialumc.org/give/venmo/

Events this week:

Monday, September 9: TOPS, 9:30 am, Lounge

Education Meeting, 5:00 pm, Lounge

Al-Anon Meeting, 8:00 pm, Fellowship Hall

Tuesday, September 10: PEO, 6:00 pm, Fellowship Hall

Wednesday, September 11: Women’s Bible Study Lunch, 11:30 am, The Cove

Al-Anon, Noon, Fellowship Hall

“Being United Methodist” Study, 6:30 pm, Fellowship Hall

Thursday, September 12: Praise Band Practice, 6:00 pm, Sanctuary

Saturday, September 14: Methodist Men, 8:30 am, Lounge

Closing Words of Wisdom:

Faith is not the belief that God will do what you want.  It is the belief that God will do what is right.” – Max Lucado